“The Masonic Lodge of St. George’s, Bermuda, rents the Old State House as their lodge for the annual sum of a single peppercorn, presented to the Governor of Bermuda on a velvet cushion atop a silver platter, in an annual ceremony performed since 1816 on or about April 23.”

The notion of the diminutive “peppercorn” as representing either a literal, or purely abstract/ symbolic rate of paltry legal tender (as in say “peppercorn rent”), got me musing about the extreme opposite end of the world currency continuum*; namely, those curious, often gigantic circular sculpted limestone/ calcite rocks (with a large hole hewn through the middle) called rai stones, traditionally used, for centuries, by the Micronesian islanders of Yap as legitimate legal tender, or more abstractly, as symbolic markers of social status, or hierarchy within the tribe, or clan.

The largest of these rai stones have measured close to 12-feet in diameter, and weigh in excess of 8,000 pounds. Clearly, the folks on Yap wouldn’t be carrying these hefty ‘coins’ around in some palm-fiber change-purse slung over the hip. HA!

Traditionally, various types of prized local shells were used as day-to-day currency back in the day, prior to the advent of ‘modern’ paper currency and coinage in more recent years. (Interestingly, on the current Yap paper bills, their rai stone is said to be prominently displayed.)

*Not that there is actually a “world currency continuum”. (Made that one up.) But hopefully you folk get my drift?